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For years and years now, I’ve used canned pumpkin. There’s no shame in it, really. So long as you aren’t using pumpkin pie filling, canned pumpkin can be ok. It is easy, it is convenient, it is delicious. Canned pumpkin is a-okay. Until you’ve tried real pumpkin puree made from an actual pumpkin.

Friends, real pumpkin changes the game 100%. It is, surprisingly, much more subtle. It has a lightly sweet taste and leaves your pumpkin treats incredibly, unbelievably moist. I used real pumpkin in some pumpkin bread – the quintessential fall treat – and was beyond impressed with the results. It yielded a bread so moist, so tender, so delicious, it was devoured before I could even get it on the table. Well, almost.

The key to real pumpkin is to get a sugar pie pumpkin. Now, there’s some debate on this – mainly between my mom and I. She tells me that you can use a regular old jack-o-lantern pumpkin but I insist not. This time of year, sugar pie pumpkins are easily available at any grocery store so go for it. Grab one and carefully slice it in half, scooping out the seeds. Spray a baking sheet with a bit of non-stick spray and roast that baby at 425 degrees until fork tender. Let it cool and use your fork or spoon to scoop out the tender, yellow flesh.

If you are so inclined, you could swirl this in the food processor for a few seconds to get it really pureed. I skipped that step. For me, it was tender enough. But if you want, feel free. Add it to your treats and report back! Add it to this pumpkin bread for the most amazing pumpkin bread you’ll ever have.

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Here’s the thing about pizza, in all its glorious forms. It is the great unifier of foods. There’s a reason why so many memes exist to celebrate pizza. When is the last time you heard someone say they don’t like it? Right, never. And if you did hear someone say that, weren’t your opinions on that person forever changed, if only a little bit? You can’t fully trust someone that doesn’t love a good slice of pizza.

Of course, now pizza isn’t just tomato sauce and cheese tossed into the oven. It has been transformed and elevated beyond belief. Now, there is grilled pizza with proscuitto or flatbread pizza topped with chicken and arugula. Instead of being something you grab quickly when you need a last-second dinner, pizza became something chefs slave over, put time into, create. I’m a fan of good, old-fashioned pizza in its purest form. It is my one true love, my one and only. But I can get down with a fancy pizza from time to time.

This version, a chicken apricot brie flatbread pizza, came from my new favorite celebu-chef, Damaris Phillips. She’s the adorable southern belle who hosts “Southern at Heart” on Food Network and puts a fun twist on traditional dishes. Recently, she hosted a party and this pizza made an appearance. As soon as Gallo Family Vineyards asked us Sunday Supper folk for our best pizza recipes to celebrate National Pizza Month, I knew this would be the one for many reasons.

First, there’s Brie on it. Brie is, well, it’s indescribable. I was first introduced to it after my mom brought some home from France (I always picture an “I Love Lucy” scenario with her sneaking it in a tuba) and was forever a changed person. It is creamy and fabulous.

Second, the Brie works amazingly well with the apricot jam. It’s a match made in heaven.

Third, this pizza pairs up perfectly with Gallo’s wines. I’d suggested either the Pinot Noir or the Pink Moscato, depending on your mood. The Pinot Noir holds up well to the flavors in the pizza and the Pink Moscato compliments them with a pleasant sweetness. I say this every time, but there is no exact pairing when it comes to wines and foods. So if you want to play around, Gallo has a ton of varieties to match up with your pizza. Crack open a bottle, give it a taste and play it around with your pairings! But no matter what you do, be sure to give this pizza a whirl!

Of course, you should also check out and sample some of the other amazing pizza creations from my Sunday Supper family. There can never be too much pizza.

Compensation was provided by Gallo Family Vineyards via Sunday Supper, LLC. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Gallo Family Vineyards.Sweet Pizzas

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

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I’ve had all these grand plans to share lots of amazing fall recipes this year. Unfortunately, my home life has me busier than usual and for that, I apologize to you. I will try to continue sharing delicious treats, filling and easy dinners and fun drinks when I can, but it most certainly isn’t as regular as before. Still, there is a silver lining. My hope is that while the amount of recipes I share decreases, the quality of each recipe will increase. Each dish I share, each photo, each meal will be better, tastier and more important for you. With that said, I present to you one of my favorite Halloween recipes to date.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year anymore. I think it is a mixture of things. Fall, and the chilly weather, combined with the candy and the whimsy. The constant horror flicks on every channel, from good to bad to cheesy bad to cheesy good. It is definitely something I look forward to every year, even as my child is getting older and no longer overly interested in Halloween.

I threw together these bloody good whoopie pies a few weeks ago while writing a magazine article about Halloween. It was one of the most fun pieces to write, though it require a sense of macabre. I went with the slightly dark side of Halloween instead of the princess and super hero side. And it was a serious blast.

These whoopie pies are your standard, basic whoopie pie with chocolate cake and vanilla filling. The thing that transforms them is the oozing, dripping edible blood. It is a cinch to make and gives all of your Halloween creations an absolutely eerie feeling. Give it a try for yourself and drizzle it over everything!

For Blood: Combine the corn syrup and cocoa powder until well-mixed. Add in red food dye until the “blood” reaches the color you want. For a deeper blood, add more food dye. If necessary, thin out the blood with a bit of water.

For pies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add in egg until well combined.

With the mixer on low, add flour and buttermilk alternately in three batches, beginning and ending with flour. Using an ice cream scoop, spoon even amounts of batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake 11 to 13 minutes until the cakes spring back when touched. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, make the filling by combining butter, confectioners sugar and vanilla in a mixer until well combined. Add in milk to thin if necessary.

To assemble, place a bit of cream on the whoopie pie, then top with another. Repeat until all of your pies have been filled. Place on your serving platter, then drizzle with the edible blood.

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Fall really means one thing: tailgating. And no tailgate is complete without melty turkey and cheese sliders.

Tailgating is somewhat a multi-faceted word. In general, it evokes the image of sports. Cheering on your favorite team while wearing team colors and boasting to fans about your favorite players and how awesome they will be. But with that one simple word – tailgate – dozens of different ideas and emotions come forward. Food. Friends. Parties. Sports.

Tailgating isn’t just about the game anymore. Yes, the sporting event is the driving force behind the party, but a good tailgate means so much more than just a simple game. It means people gathering together, eating delicious food and cheering on their favorite teams in unison, as one. It evokes feelings of camaraderie, friendship and maybe even a little sassy competition. While tailgating may be simple and sports-related, to me it really means a gathering of friends and family over good food, good drinks and good times. There’s nothing I love more than the fall sports season simply for that very reason.

Gallo Family Vineyards loves to celebrate a good tailgate. They have such a wide variety of wines to choose from, making it easy to supply your tailgaters with a bevy of options. Their mini bottles are perfect for easy transporting to and from games and go perfectly with so many different tailgating dishes. For me, I love a good slider. No sporting event is complete without one, no matter what the form. They are incredibly versatile, able to be filled with so many different things from meats to veggies to cheese to slaw. For my tailgating dish, I went classic. Turkey, cheese, Hawaiian rolls and just a little bit of butter to keep the rolls from getting too, too crispy. Cook them in the oven (or if you’re tailgating outside, carefully over the grill) and the cheese becomes so melted and beautiful. I went with a honey glazed turkey breast because it is my most favorite, from the bottom of my heart. If you want to fancy it up a little, you could try a rosemary crusted ham to add a little something extra to the mix. But no matter what you choose, these sliders pair up perfectly with either the Pinot Grigio or the Merlot, whichever you are in the mood to taste.

Even better, these sandwiches and the Gallo mini bottles are so easy to toss into a container or cooler and be ready for the big game. The easier, the better for a tailgate. Pack them up, head to the game and cheer on your favorite team. Or, if you’re like me, sit in the parking lot and and sip wine and eat delicious food while your sports-inclined friends head inside for the game. They can give you the details at half time.

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Compensation was provided by Gallo Family Vineyards via Sunday Supper, LLC. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Gallo Family Vineyards.

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When fall rolls around, it becomes impossible to avoid all things pumpkin-flavored. Even Starbucks has jumped on board, adding actual pumpkin to their world-famous pumpkin spice latte, also known as the “PSL”. And while the market may become over-saturated with pumpkin, the key to making a smashing dish with this ever-popular ingredient is to stand out. To give your pumpkin item something with a little panache, a little oomph. The little something extra takes your pumpkin recipe and elevates above all others, winning at fall and championing the season.

And so may I present to you, the pumpkin pie smoothie. It wins above all other pumpkin smoothies this season – and possibly other pumpkin drinks, dare I say – because it has that little extra to take it to the next level. The key here is a healthy dollop of mascarpone cheese. If you aren’t familiar with mascarpone cheese, I say get thyself familiar with it. It is a luxurious ingredient typically found in tiramisu. Mascarpone is an Italian cheese somewhat distantly related to cream cheese. But to categorize it with cream cheese is unfair to mascarpone, it is so much more than cream cheese. It is rich and buttery, soft and perfect in so many different dishes. In this smoothie, it adds a richness and a heft.

Like any other smoothie, you’ll combine it in a blender along with some pumpkin puree, banana, a little agave for sweetness and, of course, graham crackers. Pumpkin pie is not pumpkin pie without graham crackers. It’s the ideal, healthy yet decadent fall drink for those people who love pumpkin season. For those who don’t find it annoying or too long or for those who share Game of Thrones “Pumpkin Season is coming” memes.

In a blender, combine pumpkin, banana, mascarpone cheese, agave nectar, Greek yogurt and graham crackers in the blender. Blend until smooth. If the smoothie seems too thick, add a bit of milk to thin it out until it reaches the consistency you want. Top with a dollop of mascarpone sweetened with a bit of agave. Crumble some crushed graham crackers on top.